This invention relates to an apparatus for stacking and reclaiming loose bulk material such as wood chips, and, more particularly, to an improved stacker/reclaimer for use in connection with frozen bulk material.
Heretofore, various devices for stacking and reclaiming loose bulk material have been developed, as, for example, those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,244,463 and 4,363,396.
A basic stacker/reclaimer consists of a central tower which concentrically supports an upper stacker conveyor and a lower reclaimer conveyor. The stacker conveyor adds bulk material to a pile while the reclaimer conveyor removes material from the pile.
Two types of stacker/reclaimers are currently being manufactured, the linear travelling type and the circular slewing type. The circular slewing type produces a doughnut-shaped pile by stacking the bulk material with a stacking device located in the center of the pile. The stacking device pivots at the center of the pile, enabling it to add to any part of the pile.
The use of stacker/reclaimers for materials such as wood chips, bark, wastewood aggregate, minerals, grain, etc. has been limited to non-freezing climates. This restriction is due to the fact that conventional technology cannot handle lumpy or frozen material. As the reclaimer boom scrapes material from the surface of the pile in freezing climates, the icy crust will break up in big clumps. These frozen clumps create jamming problems at the in-feed to the exit chute of the conveyor which takes the bulk material away from the stack.